MECHELEN – The youngest Ceulemans kid has two sons who both play football. He's known for his cheerful character and is considered a late breakthrough, but in the coming weeks he's facing a fantastic double. Bart Ceulemans from Mechelen. "These have to be the best weeks of my career so far," he muses in the days leading up to the World Cup in Belgium and the week after, the absolute highlight: the Three-Cushion World Championship. The family tradition is not in jeopardy, as the phenomenon Raymond Ceulemans also began his sports career on a football pitch.
Bart Ceulemans faces a fantastic challenge. This Saturday and Sunday, the 42-year-old kid of the most famous billiards family will first play against Eddy Merckx and Frédéric Caudron in the Dutch league. On Monday, "Bartje" will face Peter De Backer and Davy van Havere in the World Cup, and a week later, at the World Championship stage, he'll play against Roland Forthomme and a Vietnamese player. It could hardly have been better, or could it? Bart: "Of course, I would have preferred to draw other opponents than three Belgians and a Vietnamese that I don't know. Like Blomdahl, whom I've never played against. But who knows what else will come my way if I keep going. The only thing that matters is that I'm incredibly happy with these opportunities. The World Cup and the World Championship in my home country, with my brother Peter, with grandpa Raymond in the stands. It has to be a highlight, a wonderful experience."
The career of Bart Ceulemans, father of two children (Vik, 9, and Leon, 6), had a long run-up and has been showing good progress for a few years now. He wasn't initially a billiards player with much ambition. Certainly not like Raymond, the illustrious grandfather, or like Peter, the older brother. "I played for a long time because I simply enjoyed it. I didn’t like to train a lot. I have my full-time job and my family. But the better Peter got, internationally as well, the more I enjoyed it and the more it began to excite me. It became more and more fascinating to me; I enjoyed improving. Not that I train much more now. At most once a week and a match with Peter. But like now, shortly before these big tournaments, I started training a bit more. My successes also play a part in that. I won a ranking tournament in Belgium and reached the semi-finals at the Belgian championship.’’
Kozoom/Frits Bakker: How's your form now in the run-up to the World Cup? Last week you beat Peter De Backer in the Netherlands, a good test. How do you rate your chances of progressing?
Bart Ceulemans: To be honest, my form isn't great right now. I've trained pretty well for a few days, which is really necessary. The confidence is there, the focus too, but the form isn’t that good yet. But I know how to peak. I have a specific training method that can lead me to such a peak. I'm now in my second week, and the highs are coming, I know that about myself. Training with Peter is good for me; I'm learning a lot from it. But I also need to train on my own, with a keen eye for improvement. Self-study is important to me. I've managed to reach my peak this way time and again.
Kozoom/FB: With Mister 100, always a team with title chances, things didn't go quite as well this week in Belgium. Peter wasn't there as captain, and the team lost without a chance. Only you drew. Kurt is obviously very busy with the organization; Raymond even had to step in.
Bart: I suspect we're not a title contender in Belgium this year. Peter won't be playing as much because of his busy international schedule. So we'll be considerably weaker then. I personally have a good feeling about this week. I played against Bart Leys, was down 20-4 after 12 innings, and still managed to finish first. The progress is visible. In the Netherlands, I played 1,270 last year, which is already a respectable average. Mister 100 might have a slightly slower year because of the organizations.
Kozoom/FB: It's striking: Peter and you both have full-time jobs and families. Playing billiards professionally, as a full-time pro, isn't an option. Is there any temptation? How difficult is it to improve against the world's top and professional players?
Bart: I sometimes wonder how far I could go, but it's indeed not an option. I have a great job at Bakkers Vlaanderen, where I handle communications and marketing. These days, we still had trade fairs in Kortrijk and Brussels. It's very difficult to make time for training then. I believe in myself; that's my strength. I keep working hard and am eager to learn. I'm already happy with my progress.
Kozoom/FB: What do you think of the tournaments that Kurt, your uncle, organizes? How great is that for Belgian billiards? Besides being a player, do you also play a role in the overall event?
Bart: It's fantastic that this can happen in Belgium. The world's elite is coming, everyone can come and watch the world stars. We have a lot of Belgians in the World Cup, which is already good for billiards in our country. And Frédéric Caudron and I have a wildcard for the World Championship because I'm high in the rankings. I hope it's a huge success with a big audience. At Kurt's request, I'm will do a podcast during the events, like interviews with players after matches. I don't know yet how often. That also depends on how far I get in the tournaments.
Kozoom/FB: So, your two sons play soccer, not billiards.
Bart: Yes, both are soccer players. They train twice a week, and a play a match in the weekend. And they're doing scouting, so that keeps things quite busy. I can balance it all well; it's okay for my life to be a bit busy. I always look on the bright side.
Bart Ceulemans kicks off the World Cup on Monday against Davy van Havere at 11:00 AM. He will then play Peter De Backer for the group win. At the World Championship, the debutant will play Roland Forthomme on Tuesday, October 14th at 5:00 PM and later that day against the strong Vietnamese Hong Chiem Thai, ranked 18th in the world.
Peter Ceulemans, with his wildcard entry into the World Cup, will play Myung Woo Cho, the reigning world champion, on Friday, October 10th at 10:00 AM. Eddy Merckx will play Frédéric Caudron at the same time.
Bart Ceulemans, wonderful days in my career
Bart Ceulemans, what a nice experience for Belgian billiards
Bart Ceulemans and his two sons during the holidays